Telstra on Monday submitted a revised plan for decommissioning its legacy networks to Australia’s telco watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
The move was prompted by the new definitive agreement struck late last year between the incumbent and state-run broadband provider NBN Co that allows the latter to make use of Telstra’s copper and hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) networks as part of its fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) deployment.
"The varied migration plan delivers on the key objectives of the government’s migration principles and will help contribute to a successful NBN rollout," said Tony Warren, Telstra’s group executive for corporate affairs, in a statement.
Under Australia’s previous administration, the government brokered an A$11 billion deal to decommission Telstra’s legacy networks and replace them with a state-owned fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) network. However, a change in government brought about a change in strategy that saw the new administration opt in favour of a mix of broadband technologies led by FTTN.
Under the revised migration plan, Telstra will continue to disconnect premises from its legacy networks in areas where NBN Co uses fibre for the last mile. In areas slated for FTTN deployment, Telstra will transfer ownership of its legacy network to NBN Co. The value of the revised plan remains unchanged at A$11 billion.
"We have also taken the opportunity to improve the disconnection arrangements based on what we have learnt so far in the first areas to go through full NBN migration," said Warren.
These include coordinating disconnection dates with end users, and allowing additional time for NBN Co to make premises serviceable.
"We will now work together with the ACCC and industry through the consultation process to help achieve approval of the plan," Warren said.
